Oral Antioxidant Provides Adjunctive Therapeutic Benefits Alongside Dexamethasone in a Rat Model of Endotoxin-Induced Uveitis.

BACKGROUND

Several antioxidant combinations are commercially available; however, it remains unclear whether these combinations can enhance the anti-inflammatory effects of systemic corticosteroids in acute uveitis models.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of an orally administered antioxidant formulation in a lipopolysaccharide-induced uveitis rat model and explore its potential as an adjunctive therapy to corticosteroid treatment.

METHODS

Seventy-five male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly and evenly assigned to five groups and orally treated for 10 days with antioxidant formulations, either alone or in combination with intravenous dexamethasone. Uveitis was induced via subcutaneous lipopolysaccharide injection. Clinical severity was assessed using a slit-lamp biomicroscope. Subsequently, a subset of five randomly selected rats per group underwent biochemical analyses of the aqueous humour and histopathological evaluation of the ocular tissues.

RESULTS

The lipopolysaccharide-treated group exhibited the highest clinical score, which was significantly reduced by dexamethasone monotherapy and combination treatment. Moreover, the antioxidant formulation significantly reduced inflammatory cell infiltration in the aqueous humour, which was further diminished by the combination treatment. TNF-α and IL-6 levels decreased upon combination therapy, yielding significantly lower TNF-α levels than those with dexamethasone monotherapy. Combination treatment significantly increased IL-10 levels. Moreover, total superoxide dismutase activity was highest in the combination group. No significant differences were observed in the histopathological scores or total protein concentrations between the dexamethasone and combination groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Co-administration of dexamethasone and an antioxidant is a potential adjunctive therapeutic strategy for mitigating oxidative tissue damage.